For The Tribune
A massive crowd flocked to Seymour High on Sunday to cheer on some of the most talented young grapplers in the state.
Seymour Wrestling Club hosted its annual Seymour Slam Wrestling Tournament, and 34 teams participated in the tournament.
Teams traveled from Evansville, Indianapolis, Kentucky and South Central Indiana to hit the mats.
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In all, 224 athletes competed in Seymour’s tournament, a record turnout.
Seymour had 34 wrestlers compete from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Seymour wrestled well, as it won the large-team division, with Floyd Central placing second and Franklin Central finishing third.
In the medium team division, the Evansville Warriors placed first, with Oldham County second and Edgewood rounding out the top three.
Tell City was first in the small team division, Charlestown finished second and North Knox claimed third.
The Academy Division first place went to the Contenders Wrestling Academy, followed by Punishment Wrestling Academy in second and Mauer Coughlin Wrestling Club got bronze.
Brayden Rorick wrestled in the 95-100 pound novice weight class for Seymour.
He finished first in novice, winning 7-5 in his final match, while also claiming first in the 100 pound intermediate.
Rorick said he was pleased with his performance, and said he learned a lot wrestling several opponents in this tournament.
Other Seymour winners were: Carter Mikels, in the 40-pound peewee division; Asher Ratliff at 65 intermediate, Owen Chandler for the 120 schoolboy and Cameron Bevers in 175 schoolboy.
In the 138 cadet, Jacob Kriete garnered top honors as he also received the outstanding wrestler award for his age division.
“Hosting a tournament like this is a great way to build relationships in the wrestling community,” said Seymour wrestling club coach Justin Ratfliff. “It gives our wrestlers the chance to compete against tough competitors from different schools.
“We could not pull an event like this off without all of the coaches and parents. All three levels (elementary, middle school, and high school) are working together, which is a testament of the success Seymour is experiencing. Everyone is excited about where the program is heading.”
Varsity coaches Todd Weaver and Greg Musser helped out as well as middle school heads Joe Penegar and Darin Kriete.
Many of the Seymour High School wrestlers also worked the event.
Seymour’s David Vogel was second in the 45-pounds intermediate division and Robert Henderson got silver in the 140 novice.
In the schoolboy division, Seymour’s Blake Leatherman (84), Matthew Lane (98), Caleb Elliott (144) and Jake Schlatterer (152) got second.
Tyler Zimmer (50), Liam Chandler (55) and Nic Frady (95) all go third in the intermediate division.
Other third place finishers from Seymour included: Caleb Lane in the 130 novice, and Trevor Lane (130) and Donald Mink (52) in the schoolboy.
The Seymour Wrestling Club added the victory to its impressive résumé.
They’ve already finished second in the Kentuckiana Duals Championships, third in the Southern Indiana Duals Championships and eighth (out of 20 teams) in the ISWA Elementary Team State Duals.